Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Awareness is the state of mind and another virtue like loyalty - equally important and essential. Here is a story by Osho portraying the value and practice of awareness.

A king sends his son to a mystic, to a master, to learn awareness. The king was old. And he said to the son, "Put your total energy into it because unless you are aware, you are not going to succeed me. I will not give this kingdom to a man who is asleep and unconscious. It is not a question of father and son. My father has given it to me only when I attained awareness. I was not the right person, because I was not his eldest son, I was his youngest son. But my other two brothers, who were older than me, could not attain.

"The same is going to happen to you. And the problem is even more complicated because I have only one son: if you do not attain to awareness, the kingdom is going into somebody else's hands. You will be a beggar on the streets. So it is a question of life and death for you. Go to this man; he has been my master. Now he is very old, but I know that if anybody can teach you, he is the man. Tell him, `My father is sick, old, can die any day. Time is short, and I have to become fully aware before he dies; otherwise I lose the kingdom.'"

A very symbolic story too: If you are not aware, you lose the kingdom.

The king's son went to the old master in the mountains. He said to the master, "I have been sent by your disciple, the king."

The master was very old, older than his father. He said, "I remember that man. He was really an authentic seeker. I hope you will prove to be of the same quality, of the same genius, of the same totality, of the same intensity."The young prince said, "I will do everything."The master said, “Then start cleaning in the commune. And remember one thing -- that I will be hitting you at any time. You may be cleaning the floor and I may come from the back and hit you with my stick, so be alert."He said, "But I have come to learn about awareness...."The master said, "This is how you will learn."

One year passed. In the beginning he was getting so many hits every day, but gradually he started becoming aware. Even the footsteps of the old man... he might be doing anything -- howsoever absorbed in the work, he would become immediately aware that the master was around. The prince would be ready. After one year the master hit him from the back while he was deeply involved in talking with another inmate of the ashram. But the prince continued to talk, and still he caught hold of the stick before the stick could reach his body.

The master said, "That's right. Now this is the end of the first lesson. The second lesson begins tonight."The prince said, "I used to think that this was all. This is only the first lesson? How many lessons are there?"The old man said, "It depends on you. The second lesson is that now I will be hitting you while you are asleep, and you have to be alert in your sleep."He said, "My God. How can one be alert in sleep?"The old man said, "Don't be worried. Thousands of my disciples have passed through the test. Your father has passed through the test. It is not impossible. It is difficult, but it is a challenge."

And from that night he was getting hit six times, eight times, twelve times in the night. Sleep was difficult. But within six months he started feeling inside himself a certain awareness. And one day when the master was just going to hit him, with closed eyes he said -- "Don't bother. You are too old. It hurts me; you are taking so much trouble. I am young, I can survive these hits."

The master said, "You are blessed. You have passed the second lesson. But up to now I have been hitting with my wooden staff. The third lesson is that now I will start hitting, from tomorrow morning, with a real sword. Be alert! Just a moment of unconsciousness and you are finished."

Early in the morning the master used to sit in the garden, just listening to the birds singing... the flowers opening, the sun rising. The prince thought, "Now it is becoming dangerous! A wooden stick was hard, difficult, but it was not going to kill me. A real sword...." He was a swordsman but he was not given any chance to protect himself; only awareness was going to be his protection.

An idea came to his mind: "This old man is really dangerous. Before he starts his third lesson, I would like to check whether he himself can pass the third test or not. If he is putting my life at risk, I cannot allow him to do it without checking whether he is worthy of it or not." And these were only thoughts that he was thinking lying down in his bed; it was a cold morning.

And the master said, "Come out of your blanket, you idiot! Do you want to hit your own master with a sword? Feel ashamed! I can hear the footsteps of your thoughts... drop the idea." He had heard. Nothing was said to him, nothing was done to him. Thoughts are also things. Thoughts also, while moving, make sounds, and those who are fully alert can read your thoughts. Even before you have become aware of them, they can become aware of them. The prince was really ashamed. He fell at the feet of the master and he said, "Just forgive me. I am really stupid."

But because it was a question of a sword, a real sword, he became aware of everything around him, even his own breathing, his heartbeat. Just a small breeze passing through the leaves, a dead leaf moving in the wind, and he was aware. And the master tried a few times but found him always ready. He could not hit him with the sword because he could not find him unconscious, unalert. He was just alertness. It was a question of death - you cannot afford to be anything but alert.

In three days' time the master could not find a single moment, a single loophole. And after the third day he called him and told him, "Now you can go and tell your father - and this is the letter from me - that the kingdom is yours."

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A long, long time ago, before people and their cities filled the Earth, even before many things even had a name, there was a mysterious place that was guarded by the Fairy of the Lake. Fair and generous, each of her followers were ever willing to serve her. There was a time in which some evil beings threatened the lake and its surrounding forests, and the fairy’s followers joined her on a dangerous journey across rivers, swamps and deserts in search of the Crystal Stone, their only hope of being saved.

The fairy warned them of the dangers and difficulties that lay ahead, of how hard it would be to endure the whole journey, but none of her followers were afraid. They all promised to accompany her to wherever it was needed, and that same day the fairy and her fifty most loyal followers set out on their journey.

As it turned out, the voyage was even harder and more terrible than the fairy had imagined and warned them about. They were met by terrifying beasts. They had to march day and night, lost in deserts, hungry and thirsty. Faced by such adversity, many followers lost heart and abandoned the quest. Finally, only one remained, and his name was Shadow.

Shadow was by no means the bravest, he was not the best fighter, nor was he the most quick-witted or the most fun. However, what he did do was stay loyal to the fairy, right to the very end. Whenever the fairy asked Shadow why he had not done as the others and simply abandoned her, Shadow would always say, ‘I told you I would follow you in spite of all difficulties, and that is what I am doing. I am not going to turn my back on you just because the journey has been hard.’

Thanks to her loyal Shadow, the fairy finally managed to find the Crystal Stone. Unfortunately, there was a monster guarding the stone, and this monster was not about to give up the stone easily. At this, Shadow, in a final act of loyalty, offered himself in exchange for the stone. The monster accepted, and so Shadow spent the rest of his days in the monster’s service.

The powerful magic of the Crystal Stone meant that the fairy could return to the lake and make the evil beings disappear. But every night she would cry at the absence of her loyal Shadow, because from Shadow’s act of self-sacrifice had arisen a love stronger than anyother.

And in memory of Shadow, and to show everyone the value of loyalty and commitment, the fairy presented every being on Earth with its own shadow during the day; but when nighttime comes all these shadows travel to the lake, to spend time with the sad fairy, and to try to console her for her loss.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Global warming is not just a concept or propaganda.We will be killed if it is not sealed!It is more than a threat and not less than Armageddon.The only difference is this war is between greedy and sagaciousNow it’s up to you to decide on which side to stand when battle lines are drawn.There are lots of movements and initiatives regarding this all over the world.But human still seems to be ignorant of the catastrophe that is imminent.They say that one picture is worth thousand words…I am going to follow the same and present a collection of absolutely intelligent and apt pictures around the globe and let’s see whether the publication of those enlighten the evil in human who is indifferent otherwise.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Thursday, January 14, 2010

A man had been on a long flight. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: "Fasten your seat belts." Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened." As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive.

Later, the voice of the announcer said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us." And then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightening lit up the darkening skies and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean.

One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash. The man confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. As he looked around the plane, he could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.

And then, he suddenly saw a girl to whom the storm meant nothing. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat and was reading a book. Everything within her small world was calm and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm, when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid.

The man could hardly believe his eyes. It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, he lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

There was a good-natured millionaire in the town. Three beggars thought of approaching him for help. The first man went to the millionaire and said: "O Lord! I want five rupees. Please give me." The millionaire was taken aback at this man's impudence. "What! You demand five rupees from me as though I owe you the money! How dare you? How can I afford to give five rupees to a single beggar? Here, take these two rupees and get away," he said. The man went away with the two rupees.

The next beggar went to the millionaire and said: "Oh Lord! I have not taken a square meal for the past ten days. Please help me.""How much do you want?" asked the millionaire."Whatever you give me, Maharaj," replied the beggar."Here, take this ten rupee note. You can have nice food for at least three days." The beggar walked away with the ten rupee note.

The third beggar came. "Oh Lord, I have heard about your noble qualities. Therefore, I have come to see you. Men of such charitable disposition are verily the manifestations of God on earth," he said."Please sit down," said the millionaire. "You appear to be tired. Please take this food," he said, and offered food to the beggar."Now please tell me what I can do for you." "Oh Lord," replied the beggar; "I merely came to meet such a noble personage that you are. You have given me this rich food already. What more need I get from you? You have already shown extraordinary kindness towards me. May God bless you!"But the millionaire, struck by the beggar's spirit, begged of the beggar to remain with him, built a decent house for him in his own compound, and looked after him for the rest of his life.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job with a timber merchant, and he got it. His salary was really good and so were the working conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to fell the trees. The first day, the woodcutter brought down 15 trees.

"Congratulations," the boss said. "Carry on with your work!"

Highly motivated by the words of his boss, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he only could bring 10 trees down. The third day he tried even harder, but he was only able to bring down 7 trees.

Day after day he was bringing lesser number of trees down.

"I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked."Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees..."

That's right. Most of us NEVER update our skills.We think that whatever we have learned is very much enough.But good is not good when better is expected.Sharpening our skills from time to time is the key to success...

Monday, January 4, 2010

10. Awareness about saving the Beings (Not the Planet… It will take care of itself)09. Being proactive about conservation of all type of energy and resources…08. People finding there selves and putting the priorities right…07. India rediscovers itself and stops blind following the vulgarity and shallow trends…06. Eradication of moral, social, financial corruption…05. Girl child loved, adored and taken care of as good as a boy or even more…04. Every child getting the basic education…03. Achieving 0% child labor rate…02. Nobody goes to sleep hungry…

Saturday, January 2, 2010

I am sure there would have been lots and lots of Resolutions and Promises as always...

Let's see if we can arrive at a common resolution for one and all with this frog story...

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition.

The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants…The race began…Honestly no one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.You heard statements such as:“Oh, WAY too difficult!!They will NEVER make it to the top.” or“Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!”The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one… Except for those who in a fresh tempo were climbing higher and higher…The crowd continued to yell“It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!” More tiny frogs got tired and gave up…...But ONE continued higher and higher and higher…This one wouldn’t give up!At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who after a big effort was the only one who reached the top! THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how the one who succeeded had found the strength to reach the goal?It turned out…That the winner was DEAF!!!!

The wisdom of this story is:

Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic……cause they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you.The ones you have in your heart!Always think of the power words have. Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!Therefore:ALWAYS be… POSITIVE!

And above all:Be DEAF when people tell YOU that YOU can not fulfill YOUR dreams!Always think: I can do this!(I will do this…!)